


No Divine

by Emile



Category: Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age II
Genre: M/M, Multi, but one will rule them all, relationships will come and go, slowest of slowburn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-14
Updated: 2017-05-14
Packaged: 2018-10-31 19:59:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,714
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10906437
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Emile/pseuds/Emile
Summary: With a futuristic Thedas at its backdrop, Hawke and Fenris work as Guardians of Kirkwall, guarding not only the line between magic and technology, but the line between right and wrong as well.(Or, where Fenris takes his job very seriously and Hawke keeps doing dumb shit because of his big heart.)





	No Divine

Fenris buttoned up his dark blue shirt and kept it hanging loose from his black pants, putting only outer end of the left side under his belt so his Guard Dog badge could be seen. Smoothing his wild white hair back with his hands, he tied it to a short ponytail on the back of his head. He put in lenses to create the vision of mono-colored eyes and applied his make-up to cover up his tattoos. After all this, he looked at himself in the mirror and felt bile rise at the man looking back at him. His pointed ears drooped, but they perked up as soon as he heard someone at the door.

“Fenris!” the voice called, followed by a rapid knock “Are you almost done?”

He looked at the mirror again, this time with a lopsided smile, grabbed his keys and ran for the door. Fenris was always glad to leave the Danarius mansion behind him. “As done as I will ever be.”

“Maker's balls, Fenris!” the bearded man exclaimed in theatrical surprise as the door opened and he revealed himself, he would probably never get used to seeing him in disguise. He looked nothing like himself, but it was the price to pay for freedom of access in this town. “No one will guess you're from Venatori-land.”

Fenris snorted trying not to laugh, then looked at the man with wrinkled nose “Tevinter, Hawke.”

“ _Sure_ , Tevinter.” he complied, straightening his uniform and tie as they made their way through of High Town. Big prestigious buildings with big gardens loomed high around them, all the higher-ups lived here. And Fenris. It was a long story.

 

From High Town, they had made their way to the Main Road, walking towards the biggest building in the entirety of Kirkwall: the Chantry. Fenris knew Hawke and his family went there from time to time, but he would not be welcome.

Not only because he was what human would call 'an elf', but because he wore markings that resembled those of the nomads that roamed the Dales, which was a sure way to get a whole Chantry to hate you. One smudge in his make-up and... no, there was no use worrying about it.

They took a left turn when in front of the majestic building, leaving the stream of people that had gathered around them. People on their way to sing the Chant of Light. Hawke had once explained to him that strict followers of the belief should do so at least three times a day with a Chanter and many more times in private. Fenris had never felt much for _singing_ for a Maker, even though he might have once believed such thing exist.

 

Rounding the building, the Guard's Office was the second building on the right. A small building that almost seemed to disappear into the shadows, but was surprisingly spacious once inside.

Hawke greeted Aveline like an old friend. Maybe because they actually had known each other for a long time, from before their passage from Lothering to Kirkwall, he was told. But to have friendly banter like this, every morning, was still something that felt foreign to Fenris.

He released a soft 'uh' when Hawke pulled him into the conversation and send Hawke an apologetic smile, telling him with his eyes that he had not been paying attention. The man squint his eyes and winked at him, then rest a strong hand on his shoulder. “I'm very glad to have this man as my partner.”

Aveline smiled at him, a forced and somewhat _sad_ smile “Being partnered to a Guardian is a honorable thing, despite of what many people will say. Do not forget that, Fenris.” she told him and offered them both their equipment for the job.

“Thank you,” Fenris said, for the weapons and for the (albeit somewhat strange) compliment.

 

He felt both _out of place_ and _at home_ bearing the weight of his two handed blade on his back. This city might not be the 'Utopia for the forsaken' it was made out to be through the Free Marches. The Chantry was rich and well-kept and High Town was kept clean. But as you walked away from the Chantry and passed the wall of iron fences, buildings started to crumble and rusted cars scattered along the streets from when people had tried to flee.

 _Flee to where?_ Fenris had always wondered... he was told that the Blight had already spread though Ferelden, leaving nothing but destruction in it's wake, and most people taking the great crossing had ended up stranded in Kirkwall. With their tight reign on Magic, anything (and anyone) with magical properties was forced to flee even further North, inevitably coming face-to-face with the corruption of Tevinter. _It had been a mess, with countless losses on all sides._

Fenris personally hadn't been a part of it. He didn't really remember much about that time, either, only darkness and the commands of his former Master. _Danarius._ A nasty piece of work that he would be glad to _never_ see again. His jaw tensed at the memory of him.

 

“Your jaw is doing that _thing_ again.” Hawke pointed out, readjusting the circular disk of his ear-piece to the reception of Darktown, it flashed green for a moment before turning transparent and 'disappearing' into his head again “You alright?”

Fenris forced the muscles of his jaw to relax, unclenched his teeth and gave his friend a quick nod. Memories were nothing he couldn't handle. “Please just tell me they gave you an order.” He mirrored Hawke's movement, activating his own ear-piece, it activated a circular disk and half a visor. They flashed blue before turning transparent and disappearing into his head again.

“According to Aveline, Anso needs help with something. He asked for us, _by name_.” he always sounded more serious when on the job, more _intense_ because of the adrenaline coursing through his veins, but Hawke still managed to form a smile “It _would_ be interesting to see our old friend again.”

They strode further through the desolate looking streets, most people either still asleep or hiding away in the shadows.

 

They found Anso setting up his cart in front of one of the central stairways and the stocky man clasped his hands in front of him in enthusiasm when he noticed them approach. He didn't say anything though, simply rubbing his hands together and looking around, as if to make sure no one would see them meeting up.

“I'm glad that you could come,” Anso said in hushed tone, once they were in earshot “There have been some troubles with--” he looked around again, more nervous now “Look, it's better to discuss somewhere more private, preferably with a roof over our heads. My home is just a small walk through that alley.”

Fenris looked over at Hawke, who subtly raised one of his brows at him, but still gave Anso an agreeable nod. “Lead the way, then.”

 

It had indeed not been a long walk, as it took just five minutes to stroll through the narrow alleyway and cross a small courtyard in between somewhat weathered houses made from light brown and natural cobblestones. As they approached Anso's home, Fenris started to feel the strange static in the air, like small needle pricks underneath his skin. He would recognize the feeling anywhere and activated his visor, picking up slight traces of _magical energy_ leading towards and away from Anso's home.

Before he could properly react, Anso had turned around and made eye contact with him, his visor still online. He gave him a somewhat puzzled look “What are you doing?” the short man asked, nervously fidgeting with his keys. Hawke's eyes were on him now too, serious and questioning.

“I will have to search your home.” was all Fenris could say, his expression betraying no emotions, but his jaw tensing, teeth grinding together so violently it was almost _painful_. Of everything Fenris had to do on his job, being forced into situations concerning magic might be the worst.

Anso complied surprisingly quick, opening the door for them both as he would have done either way “I got nothing to hide from you,” he told “I swear, the only illegal things I've ever done have always involved the  _two of you_ .”

Hawke couldn't help but laugh “And we are  _very_ thankful for you help, Anso,” he said, then watched Fenris follow them inside and start his investigation “I'm sure Fenris isn't without reason.” he said the last part loud enough to know he heard it and Fenris simply replied with a dismissive guttural sound.

 

Even as Fenris disappeared into another room, Hawke made sure to keep Anso from following him by keeping him talking, meanwhile also staying focused on the task at hand. “You told us there was something to discuss.”

“Ah, yes!” Anso looked back at Hawke now, suddenly more nervous again “You must know Jarvaris Tintop. Another merchant, also--” he gestured at himself “short and beard-y. I always thought him a good lad, but lately he's been dealing with the wrong crowd.”

Hawke listened to his words carefully, tilting his head to the left “Anso, you can't have called  _us_ here for that. What are you  _not_ telling me?”

He walked towards the kitchen hastily and came back for two big glasses, one that he gave Hawke, which was filled with water, and another that was filled with a brownish substance that  _probably_ contained alcohol for bravery.

Anso took about three swigs of his drink before he finally spoke again “It are those...  _Oxmen_ , the followers of the Qun.” he nearly bristled, clearly “He is trying to get something from them, and won't listen to reason anymore. When I confront him about it, he even threatened my --”

A shrill child-like scream cut through his next words and made him fall silent, all color draining from his face. Anso slammed his glass onto the table and ran towards the sound, cursing in his mother tongue, and Hawke quickly followed.

 

As they joined the scene, Fenris was parrying the giant hand of a golem with his great sword, his muscles straining to keep the thing from crushing him. But  _he_ hadn't been the source of the sound.

Anso ran towards the golem, raising his arms into the air before it “Abby! Abby, look at me.” the thing didn't seem to move, but the strength behind its arm started to waver. Fenris pushed back and dodged to the side, ready to make a counter attack. The man standing in between angrily turned around though, pointing at him accusingly. “Lower that weapon right now!”

The golem retreated back as Fenris had found it, huddled up in a sitting position, far into the corner of the room. It looked more like a statue, or even just a pile of rocks, when sitting there. But his visor made the lyrium veins, not too different from the markings on his skin, visible for him to see. Not only that, but also the capability for  _magic_ was stored inside the being. He locked eyes with Hawke, even as he spoke to both him and Anso “That thing is dangerous. And  _highly_ illegal.”

“That 'thing' is my _daughter_.” Anso corrected him, gently rubbing a hand along her knee, as that was about the only place he could properly reach right now “And this is exactly the leverage Jarvaris has on me...”

Hawke hadn't said anything for a while, and Fenris was figuring out now he was meeting eyes with the paled man. Something had deeply disturbed him. “There is a _child's soul_ inside of that golem.” he whispered, breathlessly, then looked at Anso “Where did you find her?”

His father had told him stories about century old golems, inhabited by the souls of dwarven warriors, from long before the pathways towards the underground cities of the dwarves were sealed. The golems were not their own anymore, controlled by magical Control Rods that were usually held by their Mage masters. Hawke wondered if she had ever been controlled by one, and what they had made her do, feeling nothing but pity for the little girl stuck inside.

“I found her when scouring one of the passageways near the Wounded Coast.” Anso admit, his voice hushed and nerves still edging his words. Fenris seemed less than amused by it all, crossing his arms tightly against his chest.

“Which is also illegal.” Fenris pointed out dryly, his lips now pulled into a thin line, his eyes pressed to a scowl. “We can't continue to keep you out of trouble if you keep breaking the law.” Hawke agreed, though he still seemed lenient, far _too_ lenient if you asked him.

The guardian and his partner met eyes, and Anso could do nothing but watch tensely as they walked away to discuss his fate out of earshot. As they did, he carefully hugged his daughter's leg, promising her it would be alright.

“Fenris,” Hawke spoke, carefully touching his shoulder. The man jumped into an even more rigid position and look at him tensely, earning an apologetic smile. “We can't tell Aveline about this.”

Fenris' expression was unreadable for a moment, but a smile tugged at the corner of his lips. He glanced over at the strange pair standing in the corner of the room, then back at Hawke.

“You need to find out if he has a Control Rod, Hawke,” he spoke in hushed tone, trying to keep somewhat of a stern expression “We need someone to stay in control, because if anyone else could make her destroy _anything_.”

“ _Control_ her?” Hawke gave him a somewhat disturbed look “Fenris, you're forgetting that we are talking about a child here, a little girl. She should be _more_ to us than just a weapon.”

He fell silent, his jaw locking for a moment, expression unreadable. Fenris hadn't looked at it like Hawke had before, but he must look quite the fool now... he released a sound of dismay and looked the other way. “This means we will have to deal with Tintop.”

“And possibly the Arishok.” Hawke nodded, though he didn't seem worried, as he had already made a choice and was ready to stick with it. He would not be responsible for tearing a family apart.

 

An insistent beeping overcame them, making Hawke rub his temple “Speak of the devil...” he sighed, then gave Fenris a look that could only be described as one of begging “Can you pick up while I take care of... this.” he gestured to Anso, already making his first steps towards him. Sometimes Fenris  _hated_ the man.

Fenris picked up with a somewhat blunt “Yes?” and waited patiently before the momentarily shock of hearing  _his_ voice over the main line was broken.

“Fenris, I expected to-” Aveline stopped herself in her track, surely in a try not to insult Fenris, still tiptoeing around him like he was something fragile not to step on “Where is Hawke?”

“He is still handling some official reports with Anso, it shouldn't take long,” Fenris explained, biting his tongue about everything that had happened “Anything that you would like to tell him can go through me.” Another awkward silence.

Right now, Aveline was probably thinking through the right protocols to follow. The truth was that there were none, Fenris should not have been on this line to start with, or rather, it was unheard of. Guardians didn't usually give their partner this much control.

“Knight Commander Meredith has asked for Hawke personally to oversee her next meeting with First Enchanter Orsino.” there as another tense silence, this time for a whole other reason, and the tension in his body only grew as Fenris send an alarmed look over his shoulder, taking in how Hawke trying to communicate with the golem with a somewhat awkward smile.

“Is there any indication why she's asking for Hawke?” he asked her, more hushed, unable to look away from the bearded man.

“No,” Aveline admitted “I don't know what they are planning, but it might be something big, and she asked for Hawke to come alone. There won't be any backup.”

“I will be there.” Fenris spoke, like making a promise “The Hawkes will be safe.”

 


End file.
